Health & Wellness

California Giant Berry Farms recently wrapped up a week in New York City, where it shared the Wimbledon experience with berry and tennis fans in Rockefeller Center and throughout Manhattan in a joint venture with HSBC Bank and The Tennis Channel.

Throughout the week of June 20, the promotion’s partners gave fans a taste of all the tournament has to offer, including the famous tradition of enjoying fresh strawberries and cream, compliments of Watsonville, Calif.-based California Giant Berry Farms.

“The opportunity to participate in these exciting activities in New York City along with national publicity really helps to reinforce our messaging at California Giant about the importance of combining diet and exercise as part of a healthy lifestyle,” said Bill Moncovich, president/CEO for California Giant Berry Farms. “This event reached locals and thousands of our consumers visiting from all over the country, helping to further build brand awareness and loyalty for California Giant.”

The New York based program kicked-off Monday, June 20, with former world No. 1 ranked players Jim Courier and Monica Seles enjoying fresh California Giant strawberries on the grass tennis court specially developed for the event. The two celebrity athletes played tennis with select fans, in addition to week-long activities that included tennis time on the singles grass court, tennis clinics and racquet restringing, live Wimbledon matches screened at the outdoor venue and samples of California Giant strawberries and cream served by staff in vintage tennis whites in recognition of the traditions of the championships.

Anchors from national morning shows like Today and Good Morning America also made appearances on the grass court to kick off the event trying their hand at both tennis and berries and cream on the air.

HSBC Bank and California Giant Berry Farms have typically served complimentary strawberries and cream to visitors and locals in Rockefeller Center, but this year added a new element by teaming up with local restaurants to offer twists on the Big Apple tennis promotion. Eight different locations throughout Manhattan featured special strawberry desserts to thousands of locals and tourists enjoying the summer throughout Manhattan. Over 30,000 maps of participating restaurants were distributed throughout the city drawing customers in to share in the experience and get their own taste of Wimbledon at locations, including the famous Carnegie Deli.

California Giant Berry Farms provided 80,000 strawberries for the public to enjoy at strawberries and cream carts in the outdoor Wimbledon viewing area, in addition to delivering fresh strawberries to each participating restaurant.The berry grower/shipper/marketer also provided healthy eating advice to children from the City Parks Foundation at a tennis clinic on the grass court, where tennis legend Courier met with young players.